Chapter 409: The Veil Over Blackthorne
The Veil Over Blackthorne
Gary’s plans were already underway. As his camp in Vellore was filled with tension and plots, the sky over Blackthorne City glowed with something else—something otherworldly.
Two figures floated from the skies, encapsulated in a crystalline-blue dome of light that was nearly translucent. They moved soundlessly over the city capital sprawl, their forms seeming to unsettle neither the clouds nor the winds; they moved as if heaven itself bore them.
They were both striking, fairy-like in their beauty, but with an aura that caused even night itself to appear dull in comparison.
One was Natasha—her black hair being cut in a sharp, neat bob that set off her pale face to perfection. Her eyes, black as obsidian, narrowed as she watched the ground below with quiet intensity. There was a sharpness about her beauty, a lethal kind of elegance that implied both grace and danger.
Alongside her drifted Sona, a contrast in nearly every respect. Her silver-white hair cascaded down her back, shimmering softly with the light of their bubble like strands of moonlight. Her blue eyes were fuller, with a look of wonder on them, softer, gentler, yet no less beautiful. If Natasha was steel and flame, then Sona was snow and starlight.
They hung for a moment in silence, looking down at the seemingly endless expanse of Blackthorne’s rooftops. The city from this vantage appeared as a jewel cut into the earth, burning with torches and lanterns and the far-off hum of voices.
Sona craned forward, her gaze shining as she nodded down. "Natasha, there—do you see? That’s Nova’s mansion. Let’s go."
Natasha’s eyes traced its course, her lips compressing into a tight line. Her black eyes narrowed, her voice low and contemplative. "Yes, I see it... but we won’t go in directly."
Sona blinked in surprise. She glanced over at Natasha, brows furrowed in uncertainty. "Why not?"
Natasha didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she extended a long finger, pointing towards a part of the city half-concealed by wafting clouds. "Look there."
Sona traced the path of her finger, and when the clouds parted, her breath was taken.
Somewhere against the edge of the city was a great estate—huge, sprawling, nearly alien in its architecture. Its walls towered high, covered in ivy and watched over by delicate stonework carvings. The gardens rolled out like a green tapestry of bloom, each one planned with fastidious beauty. Fountains sparkled in the moonlight, their water dancing with soft magical light. The manor itself was an architectural wonder—white stone and black trim, great spires and flowing arches. It was a beacon of wealth, power, and elegance.
But it wasn’t beauty that commanded Sona’s attention. Her keen vision swept the grounds, and she spotted them: glowing lines of runes inscribed in the walls, engraved in the cobblestones, even softly radiating along the air itself.
Her eyes grew wide. "By the heavens..." she breathed. "Nova actually made this mansion impregnable."
Natasha did not respond, her eyes fixed.
Sona leaned closer to the barrier’s edge, her voice trembling with equal parts awe and disbelief. "Those are alarm wards. If I’m not wrong, each rune links to a chain of triggers—alarms, traps, retaliatory magic. And look—" her finger pointed toward a faint shimmer along the western wall, "—defense runes too. Layers upon layers. Even the air here is marked. No one could slip past without being noticed."
Her astonishment increased as she saw movement below. Green-armored soldiers marched the grounds, weapons glinting in lantern-light. They swept by with precision, each step calculated, each eye keen. Their training was military, not ritual.
Sona shook her head slowly, disbelief painting her face. "Even if someone tried, this place... it’s a fortress dressed as a mansion." She turned to Natasha, her voice hushed, almost reverent. "That rune there—if I’m not mistaken—it doesn’t just detect intrusion. It calls an alarm that would bring the entire guard force within seconds. And if that’s just the start..." She trailed off, her wide eyes searching Natasha’s expression.
Natasha’s mouth twisted slightly, but not her eyes. She nodded slowly. "You’re right."
Sona let her breath out, her voice strained. "But why wait? You could break through this formation if you wished. You can do it. Why not just fly around it and land in the middle?"
Natasha’s eyes never left the mansion. Her voice was cool, calm, but tinged with a deeper emotion. "Yes, I could. The runes would not prevent me. But were we to fall directly inside those wards... if the runes did not see us but the guards did... they would strike first and think later."
Her eyes relaxed, just a little, as she at last turned to Sona. "And if they attack, we would fight. And if, by some chance, we kill even one of them before Leon or Nova arrived..." She left the words unsaid, her voice low, edged with warning. "...it would already be too late."
Sona blinked, taken aback by the gravity in Natasha’s voice.
Natasha let out a breath, her black eyes narrowing once more as if she were talking to herself, not Sona. "Not that I’m afraid of killing them. If I wanted, I could reduce this whole estate to embers. But I don’t have the inclination to butcher faithful guards—not when I came here to see Leon. And these guards... they serve one of his wives.". If I shed their blood, even in error... who can say how he will respond?
"
Her tone grew tight, dropping into something lower, tinged with a vulnerability she did not often show. "I don’t want his wrath directed at me—tonight."
Her words hung in air. Natasha hesitated for a moment as if she would continue, but then she shook her head in a sudden denial of her own thoughts. "Forget it."
Sona’s lips parted. She had perfectly comprehended what Natasha was saying, although she didn’t press. Rather, she just looked at Natasha for an extra heartbeat before she released her shoulders with a sigh. "Fine. If you won’t barge in, then what? How are we supposed to get in?
Natasha’s lips twisted into the slightest smirk. She leaned her head to one side, black eyes sparkling with covert amusement. "Sona... sometimes, I seriously believe you enjoy playing dumb."
Sona’s head jerked in her direction, taken utterly by surprise. "What? Play dumb? What do you mean?"
Natasha didn’t answer directly. She simply gave her a long look, the kind of look that said everything without needing words, before shaking her head with an exasperated little sigh. "You’ll see."
Sona frowned, still flustered, her cheeks tinged with faint color. "You always do that—speak in half-truths and leave me guessing." But Natasha merely looked back over the radiance of the estate below, her face inscrutable as the blue bubble floated quietly over Blackthorne’s metropolis.